Travel Sized Beauty

I may not be the worlds biggest jetsetter, but I do love squirreling away samples and travel sized products for short trips and even weekends away at the beach house. I was pleased with the itsy bitsy products I toted up to Queensland with me recently for a one week stay, so here is a round up of what they were!

Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel - I've used up a full-size bottle of this in the past and have since repurchased, so before I went away I squeezed away to refill this sample tube that I got from Mecca Maxima. I love being able to use a good cleanser without having to bring the whole bottle with me!

Uriage Creme Lavante Nourishing and Cleansing Cream - A nice, simple fluid cream cleanser that was the perfect size to take away with me.

Bioderma Crealine H2O - The original micellar water, I love the different sizes these come in and for this trip I brought up the classic variety with the red lid. I used this to remove all of my makeup, and it does take a few swipes for the eye looks I prefer but worked a treat nevertheless.

Smashbox Photo Finish Oil Free Foundation Primer - Love this stuff, a silicone primer that I use on the face where my pores stand out the most to smooth over them before I apply my foundation or BB cream.

Palmer's Massage Cream for Stretch Marks - I always try to take a small moisturiser away with me just in case, and even though I knew I was going to hit up Bath & Body Works I wanted this for the start of my trip so my skin stayed hydrated.

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation (sample pot) - This little jar was originally a Mario Badescu skincare sample from Mecca Maxima but I cleaned it out and pumped a few days worth of my Too Faced foundation for the days I wanted higher coverage than my everyday BB cream and for nights out to dinner with everyone.

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How many products do you travel with? Do you bother with miniature things or just lug your regular routine with you?

-Emma x

Bath & Body Works Australia Haul

I just returned home from a family holiday in Queensland, and I took the opportunity to pick up a few travel sized bits and pieces from one of my very favourite stores, Bath & Body Works! There are currently two Australian stores open and one is at Chadstone shopping centre in Victoria which is accessible for me, but I only go there about once a year at most so am yet to visit. The other store is at Pacific Fair in Queensland, and since I've only ever bought this brand while on holiday it seemed fitting to continue the trend and treat myself to a few new scents! My favourite product from this store would have to be their fragrance mists, and I love grabbing the travel sized versions which are 88ml and last a long time. This time around I also picked up a travel sized body lotion, and they had a deal on with any 3 travel sized body products coming to $25 AUD, so this haul came to $50 AUD.

Pretty as a Peach
Blushing Peach, Jasmine Petals, White Nectarine, Apple Blossom, Sheer Freesia

Hello Beautiful
A petal-perfect blend of white gardenia, jasmine petals & magnolia blossom. 

Magic in the Air
A wondrous blend of almond flower, white iris & whipped vanilla.

Tutti Dolci - Golden Honey Praline
Cozy up to creamy caramel & praline musk drizzled in golden honey.

Tutti Dolci - White Mocha Kiss
Fall in love with rich vanilla mocha & coconut orchid wrapped in marshmallow crème.

Warm Vanilla Sugar 
Indulge in the cozy, irresistible scent of vanilla & sheer florals.

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Do you have a product you tend to only buy on holiday? What is your favourite body care brand?

Emma x

Bali Holiday Essentials

I was known as the go-to villa for all of our friends needs during our recent trip to Bali, and it felt great to have all the products on hand that we needed during our two week stay. The amount of insect repellent and sunscreen we went through was phenomenal, but I think it's the random travel essentials that really get overlooked in the beauty department so here mine are.

Sadly there has been many a time while travelling across Asia when toilet paper was scarce, and even here in Melbourne my Mumma always taught me to have a small pack of tissues in my handbag in case of an emergency. I also highly recommend scented hand sanitiser which is a great thing to use before eating, drinking, after you wash your hands and in a pinch the Palmolive Fig & Coconut  scent worked a treat for me in a stinky Balinese taxi as a personal perfume!

Another great little product to throw into your travel bag is the Manicare Nail Polish Remover Pads, which is a whole lot easier to cart across oceans than a bottle of remover and makes it so easy to switch up your nail colour during the trip. I brought along a particular polish to wear to the wedding we were in Bali to attend and these wipes were terrific for whipping off my bright holiday colour to reapply something more wedding-appropriate!

My current  favourite foundation is sadly housed in a hefty glass jar (thanks Revlon!) so I knew I needed some of these little Manicare travel pots to scoop some out into. It meant that I could still rely on my favourite base product without having to worry about smashing a glass full of foundation during my trip, and it also worked well for my Origins Drink-Up Intensive Overnight Mask and my Lush Ro's Argan Body Conditioner which I brought in my skincare bag.

As always, I had to bring some bits from my stash of French wonder products - a travel sized La Roche-Posay Lipikar Baume AP Body Balm which came in handy for keeping my arms moisturised in the air conditioned villa, and the Uriage Bariederm Reconstructive Barrier Cream which was used as a chafing cream and to prevent sweat rash in the heat.

Do you bring products like this when you travel to a tropical climate?
I'd love to hear what your travel essentials are?
-Emma x

Mojito Madness

I'm currently in the process of decluttering my overwhelming nail polish collection, and never before has it been more evident that I have a wicked obsession with all manner of green nail polish shades. I'm not entirely sure why I'm so drawn to the grassy fields of green these days, but I do know that the shade makes me happy and tends to suit my pale complexion with ease when other colour families take a lot more work and effort, so there's that...

 

I seriously hunted all over for this gorgeous green Essie shade before coming to the realisation that it was a limited edition shade from the 2012 Summer Collection, the same collection that saw me miss out on Bikini So Teeny! Blinded was I by the hunt that I neglected to research properly! I then popped it onto my mental Honeymoon wishlist (because we travelled to the States where I had a better chance of finding it) and lo and behold, it was the very first beauty product bought on that holiday! Husband and I walked into a corner store in LA for some snacks, I saw how big their beauty section was and the rest, my friends, is nail polish history.

 

I present to you - Mojito Madness!

 

Essie describe this colour as a fun-loving lime green and I can definitely appreciate the lime in it, but it also looks Kelly green to me and in this post I learnt that it is the Starbucks green, too! I love how the crème finish looks chic, even on my short and unkempt nails, and the fact that I can now mentally connect the shade to coffee makes me fall even harder for it. I love everything about this colour and am so glad to have snagged a bottle for my collection, it's definitely one of the best Essie shades I've tried and I commend the brand for pulling off green tones so damn well!

 

What is your 'kryptonite colour'?

What lengths have you gone to in order to procure a bottle of nail polish?

-Emma x

French Musings for Arles - L'Occitane Arlesienne Shower Cream

I love nothing more than a good backstory or inspiration tale attached to a high quality beauty product, and it seems that L'Occitane share that enthusiasm as there is always a swirl of information surrounding each new release. I am a true Francophile at heart, despite my obsession with France waning as reality and responsibilities take hold over my day to day life. Being able to spend even the shortest while wrapped up in fantasy-land in France makes me feel such contentment. I recently watched Le Week-End (dir. Roger Michell) and truly felt my passion for Paris take hold of me, and when I eked out the last of my L'Occitane Arlesienne Shower Cream* later that night I felt truly wrapped in French brilliance at work.

Arles is a city in the South of France and Arlesienne bases itself on the art of Vincent Van Gogh and his series of paintings completed in Arles, on the woman of Arles. I love the romance and mysterious element to the history of this and having taken inspiration from such beautiful paintings, it is no surprise that the packaging of this collection (and in particular the shower cream) is stellar. I love the functional aspect of the push top, the shape that fits perfectly in my shower caddy and most of all, the touch of rose gold on the lid. It screams modern luxe to me personally, and the scent matches that as it's not a straight up floral but has notes of mandarin, saffron and lily of the valley to balance it all out. I can definitely tell that I'm not using a supermarket shower product when I use this and the scent fills the ensuite after every use - so I'm going out on a limb and saying that the price of this is easier to cope with if you think of it as a room fragrance also ;)

the woman of Arles

This L'Occitane Shower Cream retails for $28AUD/250ml and is available at Adore Beauty. The collection is an extensive one and to see the rest of the products you can check out the L'Occitane Australia website here.

What country inspires the passionate side of you? I can't wait for the day when Mister and I wander through France together enjoying every little thing about life that we often take for granted. Weekly daydream session sorted!
-Emma

*This product was provided for consideration at a launch event. Honesty, always.

Serious Sephora Skincare

Looking at all of these Sephora VIB sale posts (see Liz's post, am swooning) is making me lemm things I'd never even heard of before - I still have to pinch myself at the realisation that by this time next week I will have visited a Sephora store for the first time ever! I'm not a VIB (obviously) but I have signed up for the Sephora emails etc and I can't wait to start accumulating some points on our holiday!

I've been perusing the skincare section of the Sephora site for a while now and have a wish list that is quite extensive - I was a good girl and used up the cleansers I already had to allow myself to go crazy in America in this regard, so I'm going to leap at the chance to choose myself some lovely new skincare soon. Would love to hear recommendations from those in the know, too!

Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning (for face)
I'm hesitant about the whole fake tanning thing, but a wee bit of colour on my pasty mug wouldn't go astray and I've heard this one is the bees knees!

Clinique Take The Day Off $28.50 USD/3.8oz
This is a sure thing, I've wanted to try it for so long but it's something like $55AUD so there was no chance of that happening. I need a good cleansing balm in my life right now!

Peter Thomas Roth Skinstant Mask Magic $20 USD/3X 0.5oz
This is a bit of an excitement extra for me, I've seen some good reviews of the PTR masks and I'd like to be able to put my two cents in, plus 3 mini sizes for $20 isn't too crazy for a little thrill.

Ole Henrikson Pure Truth Melting Cleanser $34 USD/4oz
Put the word melting near cleanser and I am all yours, Ole!

Boscia Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil $28 USD/5oz
Seemingly a YouTube girl favourite, this one is more natural than others I've been checking out and I'm looking forward to trying this brand for the first time.

First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads
Love the Dr. Dennis Gross Peel Pads (may get those too...) but these come with rave reviews from people I trust so I'm on board with trying them out.

Also quite tempted by some Glamglow goodies (never tried the brand before!) but I guess we'll see how overwhelmed I get once I hit U.S shores (we fly out tomorrow!)
Any other skincare bits I should be looking into?

Emma x

September Goals

Recapping August...
-Walk 54km
I ended up following along with the Blogilates calender this month which meant I only managed 25.5km, so although this was technically a fail I am still really happy with my fitness effort.

-Donate 2+ bags of clothes to Vinnie's
I still have so much to donate, want to get onto this soon so I can start building up a nice summer wardrobe (for Hawaii as well)

-Donate 2+ handbags to Vinnie's/family + friends
I have a handbag sitting in our spare room for my sister but haven't had a chance to go through the rest yet.

-Book into the Benefit brow bar
Didn't end up doing this, pure laziness but I really need to get onto it to help fix my brows before the wedding!

-Organise beauty room
Made headway with this but still have a bit to organise and give away.

Wedding Goals!
-Finalise wedding stationary
The invitations are in the printer as we speak and I cannot wait to see them in person! So much effort and thought went into every word, never have I studied fonts that hard before.

-Book our honeymoon
Hawaii baby, our first time to the US and we are SO pumped! Any Hawaii or Vegas tips?

-Buy/choose my wedding shoes in time for dress fitting
Oh baby, I am so in love with my shoes. I had two options when I went to my fitting and had to decide between the two, and as soon as I put on 'the ones' with my wedding dress I felt amazing.

-Finalise cake design + flavours
Our cake tasting session was probably Mister Bovary's favourite part of wedding planning, truth be told.

-Book hair + makeup artists
Ended up nabbing my number one pick for both my hair and makeup, couldn't be happier!

loving my Blogilates workouts!
Hawaii, I'm checking my countdown every day for this holiday
Mint green, a colour in my kitchen tea theme
Mister and I in Thailand years ago
My all-time favourite novel
TBS Honeycomb Bronzer

Now onto the goals for September!
-Walk 35km
-Smash out the Blogilates SepTONEber calender to the best of my ability
-Fix the brows!
-Dye my hair (same ol' chocolate brown)
-Read 4 books
-Only buy beauty products if I: a) really love them + they are limited edition or b) really need them
-Start making decorations for the kitchen tea

How did you go with your goals in August?
Emma

The Honeymoon Wishlist (Part One)

I'm hesitant to splurge on beauty and skincare nowadays, but the impending honeymoon means my current favourite hobby is adding pretty things to my 'almost wish list', also known as the products I plan on checking out while on our honeymoon. We've been saving like mad for the usual wedding things and it's been a nice escape to think about swatching at Sephora!

We are pretty certain we will be visiting Las Vegas and Hawaii for our honeymoon, and it will be our first time in the U.S which is quite thrilling. I won't be picking up all of the products on these wish lists, but it is nice to dream isn't it? Some of these I can get a hold of in Australia but they will be cheaper overseas, and buying them in places like Sephora will feel oh so much nicer!

Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream perfume
I'm thinking of picking up a nice perfume for Mumma Bovary while overseas, and she is a hardcore MJ fan and the original Daisy is her jam. This one is so pretty!

YSL Kiss & Blush (12 Moca Garconne)
I've swatched the gorgeous Moca Garconne shade a million times, but won't think about biting the bullet until I'm high on holiday vibes.

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush
I love my Tarte blushes so will definitely be picking up some more shades while I have easy access to them all. Swatch fun will be had!

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup
I've seen this around and like the idea of being able to try the Neutrogena makeup range (since all we get in Australia is the skincare!)

Sonia Kashuk Concealer palette 
Have wanted this for the longest time, hope I can make it to a Target to see a Sonia Kashuk stand in person for the first time.

Neutrogena Pressed Powder 
Same reasons as above, but I am a sucker for a good pressed powder plus I know it's something I'll use up and enjoy.

 

Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder

I thought this would be the next powder out in Australia to replace the Dream Matte, but Matte Maker is currently the fresh one on the shelf. I will be buying this and giving it a red hot go with Dream Matte comparisons in my head.

 

Bath and Body Works Wallflowers

I adore home scents, and the cute wallflowers that they have at B&BW are too cute to pass up. They have cool clip on designs that I want to buy and I'll grab a few scents to use in the lounge and bedrooms.

 

Bath and Body Works Pocketbac

I like the idea of hauling little, easy to carry things so the scented hand sanitizers are an easy option.

 

Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelee

I will need to swatch this before deciding if it's worthy of a purchase - I find cheek products like this a bit challenging but have seen so many rave reviews that I'm intrigued. 

 

Bath and Body Works Candles

Heavy, oh so heavy. Lucky I have Mister Bovary's suitcase to fill up too!

 

Dior Fluid Sticks

Another product I can grab here but will resist until holiday mode is activated. A nice wearable shade like Mirage might be on the cards...

 

Tarte Rainforest After Dark palette

Swooning over this, but whether or not it is still available when I head overseas remains to be seen.

 

Sephora Formula X polishes

There is absolutely no need for me to buy another polish ever, but I know I will buy one or two of these because I'm a sucker (and Estee from Essie Button likes them = immediately convinced) 

 

This is only just scratching the surface of what I want to suss out while on holiday! I'll be honest and say that all of the excitement at just looking at these products online it making me a bit too excited! I think I need to go and sit down...

Instagramming #1



1.Trying out the Nuxe Shimmering Dry Oil at Mr. Masons 2. Mum’s el cheapo face creams 3. Motel breakfast of champions 4. French goodies I’m using from Nuxe & Clarins

1. Rocking my new Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Smitten 2. The Philosophy set that is on my wishlist, ‘The Bake Shoppe’ 3. Festive nails with essence 113 do you speak love? 4. Clearin’ out the pores with Biore!

1. My pick from the new The Body Shop festive range, Vanilla Bliss 2. Heading to a faux-raceday BBQ to hang with some beautiful souls 3. Planning a cheeky holiday 4. Celebrating Christmas with launch of The Body Shop’s new range.

 

If you'd like to follow me on Instagram, my username is EmmaBovary!

 

 

 

 

 

 

LA City Nights

While in Sydney (yes I harp on because I wish I was still there!) I came across CosmoCosmetics on George Street, a store selling a large range of Jordana polishes. I fell in love (and bought) a stack of the glitter polishes, and this was the first.

 LA City Nights is a glitter polish filled with small purple glitter and slightly larger blue glitter. I love that I can pair this with blues and purples easily, and have been wearing this over other polishes quite often. I haven't really contemplated travelling to Los Angeles before, my parents have just returned from overseas and visited New York for the first time, which looks exciting. Chris mentioned he would like to go to America on our honeymoon (he wants to visit Vegas!) and I think it could be fun.

 Anyway, back to the polish. The first shade I paired this glitter with was one of my very favourite shades, Nice is Nice from Essie. It is a lovely pale lilac shade that I have been using so often that Chris has commented on it!

I love the large bottle of the Jordana Glitters, it is gonna last for ages.

I used two coats of Nice is Nice and one of LA City Nights for this nail look.

 

Where are you dreaming of travelling?

Do you wear glitter polishes often?

They are such a pain to remove! I've found the Revlon remover to be the best for them!

 

 

Thailand Empties!

I thought I would share with you the products I finished up while overseas- I am most proud of the Clinique, I do hope it impresses you!

I forgot to include the Clinique product in the round up, sorry guys!

The wipes in the background are my HG wipes, and I used these to refresh my face after a swim and before bed if I was too lazy to wash my makeup/sunscreen off. The Lush bag held a Satsuma Santa bath ballistic that I had taken along with me. I haven't had much experience with Lush bath products, and though this was okay I don't think it is a must have from them. It's limited edition from their Christmas launches and turns the bath water bright red- a little frightening to be honest! But an overall nice citrusy smell.

The Dove deodorant made me feel comfortable, even in the Thai heat, but I reapplied after each swim so didn't get a clear indication of its strength and wear time. It was nice but not sure if it was outstanding, I may repurchase in the future but I have deodorants I prefer so we'll see. The Aveeno body wash was a sample I wanted to use up, don't like unscented bath products so won't repurchase.

The Clinique Deep Comfort body lotion is the empty I am most proud of! It came from a GWP that Clinique ran a while ago, and the reason I am proud is because I am not one to use up whole lotions, even sample sized ones! I chop and change frequently and to be honest I don't moisturise enough, so to see this go was a win for me! It was full when we arrived in Thailand, and empty after a week and a half. Let me tell you, my skin was baby soft! The scent of this is strange but I like it, so I may repurchase after I finish the zillion lotions in my collection.

Do you use up many products while on holiday?

Have you used up many lotions in your day?

What are your HG body lotions?

clear blue skies in Corfu

Sometimes I just fall in love with a polish because it is glossy and gorgeous- which happened with Corfu!

B Collection by Bloom are forever tempting me with their stunning polishes- from a non-polish lover, that is saying something!

This is Corfu, and I bought it from Target for $14.95 AUD.

I just can't leave my accent nail alone, it seems!

I threw Ulta3's Confetti over the top of my accent nail, to jazz it up a little. Loved the effect, and ended up repainting this crappy mani later in the week with Confetti on every nail.

This just reminds me of sunshines and sparkles, sigh. Can you tell I'm getting hyped up for my upcoming tropical holiday?



image source here

Corfu City Hall, that bright bubblegum blue sky could have been the inspiration for this shade, no problem.

This photo was taken years ago when Chris and I were away in Rye- I rocked that shade the whole long weekend, and it still reminds of the sunshine and fun we had. That is one of the great things about polishes- they can transport you to somewhere else entirely.

What polish do you rely on when on holiday?

Do you have any great polish memories?

IMATS tag!

Saw this awesome tag here, and couldn't stop myself! IMATS here I come!

 Image taken from IMATS site and is of Sydney IMATS 2010

1. Which IMATS are you attending?
IMATS Sydney 2011, and I am beyond excited for it! I'm going as part of the Australian Beauty Bloggers Weekend, where I will spend time with other beauty bloggers and shop up a storm at IMATS.

2. Have you ever been to IMATS before?
No, it's my first time at a trade show and my first visit to Sydney!

3. How are you getting there? 

Flying up there, which I am nervous about as I don't like flying. I've travelled quite a bit, but never could get used to the feeling of losing control.

4. Are you bringing anyone along?
Chris and I were originally planning a weekend away for the event, but now I am leaving him on his lonesome at home and heading there with Melissa, and am meeting the other blogger ladies there.

5. Is there anything else in the IMATS host city that you want to see?
Anything and everything! First time there and I'll hopefully have Friday to explore, so feel free to throw any suggestions at me!

6. What days will you be in the city that IMATS is in? 

 I will be there from early Friday to late Sunday, if flights go as planned.

7. Who do you want to meet?
I can't wait to meet inspiring artists, and learn new techniques to play around with. I'm also looking forward to spending time with Melissa, and soaking up the awesomeness that is Australian beauty bloggers!

8. What companies exhibits are you most excited to see?
Ben Nye looks to be great, and quite different to anything I've ever seen before. 

9. What products are you looking for?
I'm yet to write a formal shopping list (gasp!) but I know that I want to peruse MUFA, MAC, Inglot and pick up some Royal and Langnickel brushes. I know I will just end up picking up things that catch my eye though, but that is just how it goes.

10. How much do you plan to spend?
Hopefully not too much, but I have put away a few hundred to spend there. I have a feeling I'll be lugging a tonne of brushes back with me...and Inglot
palettes.

11. What do you want to get out of IMATS?
I'm going to change this question to "What do you want to get out of ABBW"
I want to lose some of the shyness that holds me back in life, and converse with the blogging ladies I admire.  I want to soak up every minute of beauty natter whether it be from the professionals or the bloggers, and not feel strange about comparing lipgloss attributes in detail. It's completely normal folks! And, of course, I want to enjoy the access to brands I wouldn't otherwise, and take home some goodies to keep the holiday fun going.
*
Will I see you at IMATS? Tell me now and I'll have worked up the courage to say hi by September!
Or, if overseas, tell me what IMATS was like for you!?
I tag all of my lovely readers!
emmabovary xx